


Plan 9

by ladyjax



Series: Black Books [3]
Category: Leverage
Genre: AU, Multi, gift exchage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2018-09-08 23:24:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8867449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyjax/pseuds/ladyjax
Summary: When Hardison gets snatched, Eliot and Parker have to get him back. Luckily, Alec left a plan.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Laughsalot3412](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laughsalot3412/gifts).



> Combining a tiny bit of two prompts and here's what we have. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> (Note - Amy Palavi becomes Parker's assistant in "...And Other Duties As Assigned". Mags the hacker is my own creation)

**Alec**

Anyone who’s into computers knows that you should plan for any contingency. Some people do this better than others. If you’re a hacker, you do this more than most.  
Contingency is what has you sitting up in the living room with your laptop late one night, Parker curled up next to you sleeping. When Eliot comes home and drops his bag by the door, you look up with a smile. He’s been gone for a week consulting with one of the crews that’s taken a Black Book job. They do that now: consult. More than a few of the crews that have signed up to take one of these jobs have asked for help. They’re not stupid; the people they go after now are high level and used to thinking of themselves as well nigh untouchable. It never hurts to offer some advice.

Eliot saunters over and leans over the back of the couch. You tip your head back for a kiss and Eliot wraps a possessive hand around the back of your neck to pull you in closer. When he lets go, his eyes fall on your computer.

“You’re up kinda late.”

Nodding, you wave a hand at your laptop. “Planning.”

“For?”

You shrug. “Anything. Never hurts to cover as many bases as possible.”

This has always been part of your job since the beginning: covering the team’s tracks. Monitoring the aether. It’s just the three of you now; you have more to protect. You make plans within plans. You prepare. 

**Parker**

It’s not everyday you get to take a vacation with your two best guys. They’re yours and you’re theirs. That’s how it works. 

Words are still sometimes hard so you find ways to tell them that you love them with all that you are. 

That’s why you’re in this museum on this particular day. The three of you have tickets on a Saturday a week after the museum opens

“Should I ask how you got them?” 

You slip your arm through Alec’s while lacing your fingers with Eliot’s to make sure you bring him along. “I called Maggie. She called a friend.”

Eliot looks over the rim of his sunglasses at you. “You called Maggie?”

You nod. “We talk sometimes. And I don’t have to be Alice to do it.”

You haven’t had to be Alice for a long time. 

The display, once you find it, is simple and elegant. The pair of tortoise shell hair combs and ladies’ grooming set are a beautiful example of late 19th century craftsmanship. 

They’d been in your collection forever since you didn’t know what to do with them when you liberated them from that one mark.

Alec reads the provenance. “Gift from P.” He whistles. “This is you, babe?”

You hear the pride in his voice and it makes you warm inside. 

Eliot leans in and says softly, “You broke in to make a donation. But you don’t,”

“Steal from here?” You shake your head. “It’s off limits.”

“Sort of like hitting a kid on a playground,” Alec says and you nod. 

“No one steals from the Smithsonian. I leave stuff sometimes.” You grin and whisper, “Freaks them out a little.”

**Eliot**

You’ve survived long enough to rewrite the rules of your particular game. You have a business. You have true partnership and love. So you can’t be blamed for your reaction when things go south entirely by chance while you’re on vacation.

You replay the entire sequence of events frame by frame in your mind:

*Standing with Parker outside of your hotel waiting for Alec who had decided that he needed better coffee than what the hotel was selling.  
*Seeing him walking towards you, coffees in hand, bright grin that makes your heart clench every time you see it.  
*The white van that pulls to a screeching halt next to him and the men who pile out to grab Alec.  
*You’re already moving, shouting his name with Parker on your heels.  
*Alec is moving too, dropping the coffee, pulling the his keys out of his pocket and laying into one of his assailants viciously with the kubotan that hangs on one end.

( You and Alec had drilled continuously to make that move look effortless.)

There’s too many and eventually, they’ve subdued Alec and bundled him into the van, taking off with squealing tires. 

The blood is pumping in your veins as you attempt to run after the van and you’re seeing red until a touch on your arm brings you back to yourself. Parker, with a look of absolute murder on her face, motions with her head towards the hotel.

Back in your room, you call Amy and put her on speaker.

“What do you need?” She’s damn near unflappable most days, but even this has her shook. 

“Is Quinn with you?”

She doesn’t hesitate. Quinn’s on the line in moments. “You gonna threaten me for dating Parker’s assistant?” He’s laughing a little and normally, you’d give him shit for looking Amy’s way but right now you don’t have time.

“Someone just snatched Alec.”

Quinn’s voice comes back sharp, focused. “Fuck. Okay, what’s the plan?”

That’s when you go blank because there’s a plan. Alec’s plan. And for the life of you, you can’t remember what comes next.

 

**Parker**

You step in and nudge Eliot towards Alec’s tablet. “Look up Plan 9.”

Because, of course, Alec would name worst case scenario after one of the worst sci-fi movies ever made. You know this because a) he told you and b) made you and Eliot watch it one day.

Alec Hardison logic dictates that plans 1-5 are for run of the mill things you might encounter on the job. 6 and 7 are when things get serious. 8 is even more serious. 9 is for when you’re not totally sure what the hell is going on beyond, “Get me back and feel free to burn down the city to do it.” They’d laughed about it when Alec reviewed it and he’d taken it with good grace.

Eliot reads off names of people they actually can trust to call, details on how to completely secure the pub until everything blows over. Black Book jobs are to be put on hold and any crews involved are to stand down even if they’re in the middle of one. 

You tap your fingers and go back and forth with Amy and Quinn on some of the finer details until it’s time to hang up. Then, it’s only you and Eliot.

“We’re going to get him back.” You say it aloud, letting the words crystallize into truth.

“Damn right we are,” Eliot replied. “Gonna gut the ones that took him.”

You can’t help but agree.

 **Alec**  
You’re a little battered and bruised. Your kidnappers hadn’t expected a fight from someone like you. But then, they also hadn’t expected to be able to snatch you at all.

Random chance that you’d be in the District. That their pet hacker would actually know you on sight and that closed circuit cameras would happen to catch you, Eliot and Parker when you went to dinner after the museum.

“When opportunities such as this drops in our laps who are we to turn away from it?”

The leader looks like a cheap Gordon Ramsey clone, complete with affected British accent.

You chance a look at Chaos sitting on the other side of the room. He gives you the most sarcastic wave ever and you give him the finger in return. He couldn’t possibly believe the bullshit this guy is spouting so he’s in it for whatever money this guy is paying.

“What do you want?”

(Years ago you would have tried to puff yourself up but between Eliot and Parker they’ve curbed some of your worst impulses.)

You keep it cool and wait for the answer. 

**Eliot**

He picks up on the first ring.

“Well, this is a surprise,” says Colonel Vance. “Last time I saw you, you were on crutches being hustled away by your partners.”

You’re in no mood for his sarcasm. “Alec’s been taken. You have anything to do with it?”

This brings the Colonel up short.

“Spencer. Eliot. You know I wouldn’t. You said you were out, you’re out. All of you.” 

“Anybody else you got on your radar who might need someone with his skill set?”

“There’s always someone popping up these days.” Vance’s heavy sigh doesn’t move you. “Cyber warfare is the new frontier and we are woefully behind on our defenses. I wasn’t kidding when I told you that there are certain agencies that have wanted to get their hands on Hardison for a long time.”

Parker is sitting beside you still as a cat, listening. You rub your hand over your face before rubbing your temple.

“We need intel. Don’t care how you get it,” you say. “You got a problem with that?”

Vance’s wry chuckle grates your nerves for the first time in a while. “You’re in luck. I’m part of an inter-agency task force that is taking a more holistic approach to domestic threats. Let me throw this at them.”

“You do that. Clock’s running, Vance. “

“Think he'll help us?” Parker asks. She’s practically vibrating with the need to do something, anything but until they hear back from either Vance or Mags, the hacker who sometimes works with Quinn, the only thing the two of you can do is wait.

“It’s either help us,” you say, “Or we tear this town apart looking for Alec.”

 

**Alec**

You pointing out that messing with the whole power grid is a bad idea that’s been done before gets you a hard slap in the face. You spit out a little bit of blood from where your teeth cut the inside of your mouth. 

Eliot and Parker see this they’re gonna flip.

 **Parker**  
That one time when when Alec ended up in buried in a funeral plot was enough to convince you that you didn’t want to go through possibly losing him again. The spiraling hurt in your gut was only alleviated when Alec was pulled from the wreckage of his coffin and being hugged by both you and Eliot.

Eliot’s worked with both you and Alec on your hand to hand as well as psychological stuff and Alec’s gotten better on both fronts. You hold on to that fact like it’s a lifeline.

 **Alec**  
You help with the kidnapper’s little scheme because the first rule of being taken is survive. Access to the computer is a bonus.

 **Eliot**  
Mags calls in a few hours later.

“Got a name for you.”

“Who is it?”

“Carl Braeden.”

The name doesn’t ring any bells but you’re grateful because it’s a start. You call Vance and drop Braeden’s name and he’s quiet on the other end of the line.

“You know him?”

“Former staffer, worked for one of the other men in my command.”

“Got another question for you.”

“Shoot.”

You take a deep breath. “How secure were your files on us?”

**Alec**

Chaos is a dick. He will always be a dick. An opportunistic dick. This is the mantra running through your head as he talks at you while you’re working.

He’s good at what he does. Those two times you went head to head, the one time you worked together with their whole crew; you know him. He’s who you might have become had you not had the leavening influence of Nana and later the entire Leverage crew at your back. 

You’re better now than you’ve ever been with Eliot and Parker which is why you can listen to Chaos’ yammering with half an ear as you do your little dance to keep the kidnappers happy. While you drop the occasional breadcrumb in the hope that someone is looking for it.

 

**Parker**

Eliot’s catching a shower when the phone rings.

“Hello?”

“Where’s Spencer?’ It’s Vance again.

You lean against the table, cradling the phone between your shoulder and your ear. “Shower. What do you have?”

“I’ve got someone here with passing knowledge of the type of work Alec does.”

He meant a former hacker. Alec talked a lot about what it would mean to go work for the government. It didn’t sound like a whole lot of fun. Also, very little money.

“Well?”

“She’s narrowed down possible whereabouts for Braeden.” He rattles of the information and she writes it down. One step close to Alec. “You two shouldn’t go after him alone. Let me put a quick team together and we can...”

You hang up before he finishes just as Eliot walks out, one towel around his hips, the other in his hand rubbing at his hair.

“Who was that?”

“Your friend Vance.” You wave the hotel note pad at him. “List of places we might find Braeden.”

“Good.” Eliot shakes his hair out of his eyes and give her a quick kiss on the cheek. “We’ll check them out as soon as I’m dressed.”

When the phone rings again, you dive for it, thinking it’s Vance.

It’s Mags.

“I’ve got a lead.”

 **Alec**  
You’re still working, slow as snail snot, dropping hints here and there when the first shot rings out. Two more follow which means that the guards outside are down.

Braeden, who finally told you his name, spins around and looks towards the door. That’s your cue to get down and under the nearest table. Chaos slides in next to you and you poke him to move him out of your space. “Hey, I was as much a victim..” he begins.

“Just...fuck it, don’t talk to me,” you snarl. “Rescue’s coming.”

Eliot kicks the door in and you’ve never been so glad to see him. “Alec!”

“I’m here,” you call out. “You take care of the bully boys yet?”

“Got three outside.”

The familiar whir of the zip line Parker alights on the table you’re under. She unhooks and drops down to the floor beside you. “Got three more on the roof.” She smiles and pulls you in for a hug.

“You can’t do this,” Braeden is saying. “You can’t just bust in here.”

Eliot moves, his fist making a sickening crunch as he hit's Braeden in the face, putting him on the floor. Parker turns, walks over and kicks him in the stomach. “Serves him right,” she says.

You scramble out from under the table and walk right into Eliot’s arms. He’s holding you tight enough to steal your breath but you don't care. “I’m okay,” you murmur and you feel the tremor that runs through him.

When he pulls back, his eyes darken at the bruise on your face. “Which one hit you?” he growls.

“You took care of him already.”

“Good,” Parker says. She looks down at the still moaning Braeden then turns to sling her arm around your waist. “Vance gets to bag him. We’re going home right now.”

You and yours leave Chaos and the remnants of someone else’s broken dream behind you.  
**

**Epilogue**

**Alec**

A call from Vance reveals some serious holes in the security in his office. He’s going to plug the leak. He’s also asked if you’d be willing to consult on the security issues. You quote him an outrageous fee. He promises to scrape together the money.

“Don’t call me until you do,” you say and hang up the phone.

Home is the pub being open while you rest up. You have pride of place at the end of the bar and Eliot and Parker manage to not hover too much. Quinn endures being grilled within an inch of his life about Amy. That’s never going to get old, especially since Amy teases him about it.

Later that night, you’re sitting up, working again. Eliot’s hand lands on your shoulder. “Come to bed,” he says quietly. 

Plans can wait.


End file.
